Ferrari left the Dutch Formula 1 GP with Lewis Hamilton in fourth and Charles Leclerc in fifth, but identified a specific point that limited their performance in Zandvoort. For Fred Vasseur, the team’s main problem was not the race pace, but the speed shown in the qualifying session.
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The Ferrari boss acknowledged that the race execution also had flaws, including a slow pit stop and Leclerc losing position to Oscar Piastri at the second start. With a very balanced pack and little difference between tire compounds, small decisions ended up having a significant impact on the result.
“Our race pace was reasonable today, but our execution was not perfect,” said Vasseur. The Frenchman highlighted that Ferrari even considered keeping Hamilton on track until the end, without changing tires again, before the Virtual Safety Car entry changed the strategic scenario.
Hamilton finished P4 and assessed that the team managed to bring home important points, highlighting the work done at the factory and the updates introduced on the car: “We know we need to do more, to ensure we are taking advantage of every opportunity to stay in the championship fight,” said the Briton.
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Leclerc, in turn, considered that the pace allowed a closer fight with George Russell, but pointed out the timing of the Virtual Safety Car as unfavorable. The Monegasque also highlighted the need to improve performance in qualifying sessions, as he considers the starting position one of the main factors that limited his result.
Vasseur agreed with the Monegasque driver’s diagnosis and stated that Ferrari will focus its analysis on this aspect before the Italian GP: “I think what we lacked most this weekend was qualifying pace, not race pace,” concluded the team boss, who expects a cleaner execution in Monza.
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